The present invention relates to a disposable garment having a consumer-activated component that is expandable to improve the fit and function of the garment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disposable garment that includes one or more elements that are initially in a relatively flat, compressed form and that are subsequently allowed to expand by the application of tension to the garment at or shortly before the time the garment is applied to body of the wearer.
Garments in the form of disposable absorbent articles are provided to absorb and to retain body exudates, such as urine, fecal material, menses, and the like. A particularly desired feature of such disposable absorbent articles is the ability to acquire and to hold body exudates to minimize leakage of the exudates from between the garment and the wearer. Another desired feature of such articles is that they conform with and fit the body of the wearer in such a way that they are retained in a desired wearing position as the wearer""s body moves.
It is known to add to a disposable absorbent article a pre-formed spacer for providing a collection space for containing fecal material. However, such pre-formed spacers suffer from the disadvantage that they have an initial thickness that causes an increase in the thickness of the article, and therefore articles including such spacers are thicker and occupy more space within a package, which increases shipping and storage costs as compared with disposable absorbent articles that do not include such spacers. Additionally, such spacers can also be perceived by consumers to be uncomfortable to a wearer because of their thickness at the time of application of the article to a wearer, and they can also be perceived to adversely affect the fit of the wearer""s outer clothing.
Various forms of known spacers for use in connection with disposable absorbent articles are illustrated and described in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,674, entitled xe2x80x9cDisposable Absorbent Article Having a Sealed Expandable Component,xe2x80x9d which issued on May 28, 1996, to Lavon et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,672, which issued on Jan. 5, 1993, to Bruemmer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,236, which issued on Dec. 15, 1992, to Dreier et al.; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/898,047, entitled xe2x80x9cSpacers for Use in Disposable Absorbent Articles and Disposable Absorbent Articles Having Such Spacers,xe2x80x9d filed Jun. 11, 1992, by Allen et al. It is noted that a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/898,047 was filed as application Ser. No. 08/698,471 on Aug. 15, 1996 and matured into U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,584 issued on Jan. 2, 2001.
A disclosure of an absorbent article having an inflatable structure is contained in French Patent Application 2,561,078, published Sep. 20, 1985, in the name of Lefebvre. A diaper is disclosed having a structural element that is inflatable by mouth. However, inflation can be awkward or inconvenient to perform, especially in public areas or at a time when the diaper is already fastened to a wearer. Further, such an inflation arrangement is also undesirable because of sanitary considerations.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,881,491 and 3,921,232, which issued to Whyte on May 6, 1975, and Nov. 25, 1975, respectively, disclose disposable absorbent articles having self-inflating structures. The structures have a wall of semipermeable material through which body fluids can pass, and include a gas-evolving material that interacts with an activator material (e.g., urine) to inflate the structures. However, the structures taught by Whyte primarily prevent core densification, and they suffer from the disadvantage that they require an activator material from an external source, such as urine, and the wearer may not urinate at the desired time, in the desired location, or in the desired quantity to properly inflate the structure.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/081,733 filed Jun. 23, 1993 in name of Ahr et al. and Ser. No. 08/081,536 filed Jun. 23, 1993 in name of LaVon et al. disclose inflatable diaper components whose inflation requires wetting of a component or of a mixture of two different materials. It is noted that a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/081,733 was filed as Application Ser. No. 08/422,676 on Apr. 13, 1995 and matured into U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,847 issued on Jan. 30, 2001. It is also noted that application Ser. No. 08/081,536 matured into U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,459 issued on Jul. 19, 1994.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a disposable garment having a component that is expandable at or shortly after the time the garment is applied to the body of a wearer, to improve the fit and function of the garment. It would also be desirable to provide a disposable diaper having a spacer for providing a fecal matter collection space, wherein the thickness of the spacer can be increased without the need for wetting of the spacer, and wherein the spacer thickness can be increased by the consumer or the wearer. It would also be desirable to provide a sanitary napkin having a component that is expandable at the point of use of the sanitary napkin to provide separation and lift of the napkin topsheet and core relative to the backsheet of the sanitary napkin, and thereby provide increased caliper of the sanitary napkin along its longitudinal centerline.
Further, it would be desirable to provide a disposable absorbent article having an expandable component including a compressed resilient element that is disposed in an air impermeable envelope for delayed expansion, wherein most of the expansion occurs after the article has been removed from a package and has been applied to the body of a wearer.
Briefly stated, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a disposable garment is provided that includes first and second structural elements that form part of the garment body. An envelope is carried between the first and second structural elements, wherein the envelope is in sealed condition and contains a compressed spacer element. The envelope is securely connected with the first structural element at a first retention point. An activator is connected with the envelope and extends from the envelope to the second structural element at a second retention point. Upon the application of tension to the garment the first and second retention points move away from each other and the activator opens a flow passageway into the envelope to allow the spacer element to expand from its compressed condition to a substantially uncompressed condition.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a disposable garment is provided that includes a garment body. A formed, resilient, expansible member is carried by the garment body and is positioned to be adjacent the body of a wearer when the garment is wom. The expansible member is initially in at least a partially compressed condition within an envelope. The envelope is attached to the garment body at a first retention point, and it is in a sealed condition about the at least partially compressed expansible member so that the expansible member is maintained in an at least a partially compressed condition until an opening is provided in the envelope to admit ambient air therein. An activator is carried by the garment and is connected with the envelope at a first activator connection point. The activator is also connected with a portion of the garment body at a second activator connection point that defines a second retention point that is spaced from the first retention point by a region of the garment body. Upon the application of a tensile force to the garment to extend the region of the garment body that is between the first retention point and the second retention point, the activator opens a flow passageway in the envelope adjacent to the first activator connection point to admit ambient air into the envelope and thereby allow the expansible member to decompress and to expand from its initial at least partially compressed condition to a substantially uncompressed condition.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention the garment is a disposable diaper and the expansible member defines a collection chamber for collecting fecal matter.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention the garment is a disposable diaper and the expansible member is disposed in a waist region of the diaper to improve the fit of the diaper about the waist of the wearer.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention the garment is a disposable diaper and the expansible member is disposed in a marginal area of the diaper to improve the fit of the diaper about the legs of the wearer.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention the garment is a sanitary napkin and the expansible member is disposed along the longitudinal axis of the napkin to improve its function.